Time Away from the Brushes & Easel

It's been a while since I've held a paintbrush and faced a blank canvas.  

I've been busy pat-a-caking with these...

... while waiting for these to arrive! 

Lupine Landscape

Lupines aren't native to my part of the world. Except for seeing them in the children's book Miss Rumphius, I'd never even heard 

of lupines until five years ago when we took a trip to Maine. To say we loved it would be an understatement. Of all the places we've visited, Maine is at the top of the list for places we want to return to. One unexpected treat was seeing lupines... everywhere! I fell in love with them.  It's good that we were on vacation and not in a hurry to get anywhere because we stopped for me to take pictures of them many, many times.

I took photos of lupines with the thought that one day I'd use one as a reference for painting.  Sara's Inspiration Image Freedom was just the motivation I needed to finally paint lupines.  I look forward to the day that we'll feel free to travel once again.  Maybe we'll take a trip back to Maine and enjoy the lupines.

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

[SOLD]

Making Spaghetti Sauce

When you grow the ingredients, the meal always tastes better.

Inspiration comes from the herbs: basil, oregano, and chives.

Fresh ripe-from-the-garden tomatoes are the base.

Chopped onions and maybe some garlic bring out the flavor

Blend the tomatoes then let them rest for a few hours.  The frothy tomato goodness rises to the top, and the tomato water sinks to the bottom. (Keep that water to boil your noodles in.)

Mmmm... Stir it all together...

Save some for winter...

Have some for supper!

Squash Blossom

From mid April until early September, tending the garden is a part of every day. I marvel at every stage.

I have five squash plants. (Honestly, that's probably about four too many!) I planted them this year in the round pots at the front of the garden where they onions had been during late spring. The plants are huge... long thick stems, wide lush leaves, and huge yellow blossoms hidden underneath. 

Of all my vegetables, it would never have occurred to me to put a squash plant on canvas. The description of Sara's Inspiration Image, however, made me notice again how pretty a squash plant can be. Under her beautiful photograph of a butterfly on a purple flower, she wrote, "...catmint is a good companion plant for squash. Apparently it's also a good companion plant for butterflies."

Hmmm... What was missing?  Her picture showed the catmint and the butterfly... but... What about the squash?

Original Oil Painting on 8"x 10" Wrapped Canvas

[GIFT]

Inspiration Collaboration - August 2020

Will you look at these images, choose one, and create art of your own?Click HERE to read the short story behind each one to help you choose.

It's easy to be a part.  

Click HERE for instructions.

We look forward to seeing your quilt... or your photograph... or your drawing... or your art journal entry... or your painting... or your wood carving... or your collage... or...

George's Miss Conduct

Sometimes the hardest part of a painting done as a memorandum is choosing just the right image... one that reminds... one that causes a happy memory to come to the surface... one that brings a smile.

A dear friend asked me to paint two of this type of painting recently.  I asked her if she'd like to write the post for them.  Click HERE to see the first.

Here is the second:

Since the pandemic began months ago, life has seemed more fragile than ever before. Finding a gift for a special family member or friend has become a quest. I "need" to give a gift that will be a lasting symbol of our relationship or a treasured memory. Helen's willingness to listen to each story attached to my photos has provided a way for me to satisfy this need. 

I have a loyal, longtime friend, Rita, who has survived two recent losses of loved ones. I wanted to give her an image to spark a positive memory for each of them. Helen suggested painting an object reflecting a life passion for each. Perfect! 

The red whitewater boat named Miss Conduct was built by Rita's long time partner, George, and a friend of his. The passion of rafting big whitewater rivers out west is shared by Rita. Helen did justice to the photo by carefully gathering information on each part of the photo. What color is this or that? Whose truck is in the background...what model? Revisions, revisions that led to just the right image. Creativity coupled with patience and a desire to get it right led to an amazing memory painting.

It was a pleasure to work with her to make these gifts just right.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD] 

A Sister's Gift

Sometimes the hardest part of creating a painting done as a memorandum is choosing just the right image... one that reminds... one that causes a happy memory to come to the surface... one that brings a smile.

A dear friend asked me to paint two of this type of painting recently.  I asked her if she'd like to write the post for them. 
Here is the first:

Since the pandemic began months ago, life has seemed more fragile than ever before. Finding a gift for a special family member or friend has become a quest. I "need" to give a gift that will be a lasting symbol of our relationship or a treasured memory. Helen's willingness to listen to each story attached to my photos has provided a way for me to satisfy this need. 

I have a loyal, longtime friend, Rita, who has survived two recent losses of loved ones. I wanted to give her an image to spark a positive memory for each of them. Helen suggested painting an object reflecting a life passion for each. Perfect! 

In March, Rita's sister lost her battle with Covid 19...just as most of us were beginning to pay attention to the warnings. It was a devastating loss for family and friends. For Rita to lose her older sister, traveling companion and friend, not long after George was incomprehensible. I learned that Patti was multi-talented as an artist, a gardener, and a designer of floral arrangements. Helen captured the beauty of this design for Patti's son's wedding perfectly. Another memory painting to be treasured!

It was a pleasure to work with her to make these gifts just right.

Original Oil Painting on 6"x 12" Wrapped Canvas
[SOLD]

Harvesting Sunflowers... For the Chickens? or the Squirrels?

Sunflowers are the best.
I love them. I've painted a few.
I think row of sunflowers belongs in every good-sized garden.

My sister had a great row of sunflowers this year, so I thought I'd harvest them.  The chickens would be so pleased!  Right? 

Such a pretty row!

When they droop, it's time.

That should fill the three buckets I brought.

Rub the prickly fuzzy off.
Rip the petals off.

I wonder how many seeds are packed into each head.
(Google says about 1,200.)

These little ones get to keep their petals and get
to come live in a vase in my kitchen for a while.

The hens came running.
They took a peck... and said no thanks.
What!!! Ungrateful chickens!

But the squirrels had a fine time!

"I'll have 1,200 seeds, please. 
I'll leave 2,400 seed shell halves for you."

They'd eat all around the edges from the outside in.

"The purple ones are smaller. I might need two."

No need to share.  There was enough for everyone. 
And, they called their relatives.

The squirrels were also ungrateful.
No one cleaned up after themselves.
My whole backyard looks like this.
Sunflower middle surrounded by seed shells.

So funny!  They'd carry them around to a good spot.
Some were bigger than the squirrel eating them!

Sunflower Shine

At midday, when the sun is high in the sky, the color shimmers off each petal as it reaches upward.  All day long, their faces follow the sun's path across the sky.  I stand quietly at the edge of the garden and watch their silent nods, a show that gives me pause, reflecting on a season well spent.

Photo by Sara Harley

I was inspired by both the image and the writing from this month's Inspiration Collaboration image.  Sara wrote, "Late in the day, when the sun is lower in the sky, the light bounces off our small outdoor fish pond and into our home. For a short time, the glow dances across our living room ceiling in shimmering aerial ballet. I sit quietly in my chair and watch the silent performance, a shape shifting show that gives me pause, reflections and afterglow of a day well spent."

Original Palette Knife Oil Painting on 10"x 10" Wrapped Canvas.

[SOLD]

Daisy

He loves me...
     He loves me not...
He loves me...
     He loves me not...
He loves me!

Daisies are such happy flowers.

Until this one, I'd only painted one other daisy.  It was the fourth painting I ever did.  Although it was only my third lesson and way back in March of 2007, I have a clear memory of it.  We were to learn about seeing the color in black and in white. My teacher gave me a calendar page with a big white daisy on it. "Look at all the beautiful colors in that flower!"  Oh, dear... something was wrong.  I only saw a white flower.  She said, "Yes, it is white, but look closely and notice the purples and yellows and reds and browns and blues!"  Wait, did I get the wrong picture? Mine's just a white daisy!  She said that her goal was to help us to see the world differently, to notice the subtle variations in the colors of nature. Clouds weren't just white. Trees weren't just green. Water wasn't just blue. I tried. I tried to pretend I saw more than just white. 
The background was black... wasn't it?  "Yes, it's black.  But black has no life, so we won't open the tube of black paint." Oh, dear... Should I quit now? Will I ever "see the world differently" like she wanted me to?
Yes.
Yes, Over time and through practice, I would learn to see the world differently, through artist eyes.

Photo by Sara Harley

Sara's Inspiration Image for July's Inspiration Collaboration gave me the idea to give painting a daisy another try.  And, yes, it was much easier to "see the color" in the white flower on a black back ground.

You can see my painting along with several other works of art inspired by A Touch of Sunshine.


Original Oil Painting on 5"x 7" Wrapped Canvas.
[SOLD]

Inspiration Collaboration - July 2020

We want to see YOUR art this month!

Whether it's a quilt, a sculpture, a photographic collage, a painting, a drawing, a poem... it belongs!

Whether you're a returning participant or a newcomer... you belong!

Four new Inspiration Images are up for July!

Join us at Inspiration Collaboration!

It's easy to be a part of this creative community.

1. Click over to Inspiration Collaboration to get a better look at the four new Inspiration Images and read the stories behind each one.
2. Choose one that inspires you to create.
3. Make it!  (Make it with paint... or wood... or yarn... or fabric... or words... or a camera... or clay... pen and ink... or... )
4. Take a picture of your art and send it to us!

You'll find everything you'll need to know  when you click Instructions for Submission.

Waiting Patiently

Every once in a while, I come across an image that I know I want to paint.
This was one of those.

It's such pretty group of cows and their calves patiently waiting.  
     Waiting for their farmer to come with feed...  
          Waiting for the sun to go down... 
               Waiting for the lady with the camera to go away...

I doubt anyone has ever used "patient" to describe me, but I do try to be. It's in my nature to move at a fast pace, to get the job done, to begin right now.  Since businesses, churches, and activities have been closed, however, life has moved at a slower pace. 

Maybe these pretty white cows can be a reminder.
     Slow down...  Take it easy...  Chew your cud and enjoy the wait...

Thanks to Sara Harley - Image Maker for letting me paint her photo. (And, yes, I know there was actually another little calf behind the big cow, but only his back end and tail showed! Maybe he was shy.) 

Original Oil Painting on 14"x 18" Wrapped Canvas.
Click Waiting Patiently if you'd like to purchase this painting. But... know that I'll be a little sad if you do since I look forward to having it hang on my own wall for a while. 😉

Be Careful What You Wish For...

At the end of winter or beginning of spring, we had an idea.  We thought it would be fun to hack a trail from one end of our woods to the other.  It would be like an adventure through the forest we could walk with our grandbabies.  We gave an attempt at making it, but the woods was just an overgrown impossible mass of vines and trees and weeds and briers and brambles.  In the end, we decided that it wasn't feasible for us to do.

Be careful what you wish for...

Yesterday morning...
A guy from the utilities department came by.  He said they needed to trim a path under the power line that runs through the woods from the highway. He acted like he was asking permission, but really he was just making me aware.  
They did it the year after the ice storm of the century in 2009.  Their plan is to do it every 5-10 years so that there will never be another time when so many power lines get broken by falling branches and trees.

Yesterday afternoon...
There was a cacophony of chainsaws inside our woods.  I couldn't see them, but there was no question that they were wasting no time getting to it.

This morning...
There was a noise of destruction like I've never heard before.  I can only describe it as a cross between Dr. Seuss's Super-Axe-Hacker from The Lorax and a mechanical version of the Tasmanian Devil.

 

I could see it through the trees a little bit.  It would drive into a pile of yesterday's debris and start chewing and snarling and biting and tossing and pulverizing.  

After a while I just had to have a look.  I walked through the 10 feet of woods and could not believe it...
I walked up the swath of devastation and watched the Tasmanian Super-Axe-Hacker work.  In only a few minutes the nice guy in an orange hardhat came down to chat.  I could only say, "Wow..."   He said, "This will all grow back.  We just have to keep a path for the power line. That machine throws a lot of stuff a pretty far distance."  He didn't actually ask me to leave (my own property), but the work did come to a halt until I did.  And, I noticed he kept an eye out that I kept going back. 

Perhaps you think I might be stretching this just a little bit. 

This is the view from my mailbox on the highway. 
See that pole on the right side?
Let me walk up the highway to that pole...

Now you see that pole on the left.
That empty space beside it... was forest yesterday.
Let's take a closer look, shall we?

And... there's the pole, safe from any tree branch, ice storm, or creeping vine.
Courtesy of the Tasmanian Super-Axe-Hacker, yesterdays trees are...
 ... today's mulch.

This was the sight I was met by when I walked through my woods.
If you enlarge it, you'll see the man in the hard hat keeping an eye on both me and the Tasmanian Super-Axe-Hacker.

Look carefully through the trees...
Do you see it?
That's the antagonist of today's story... The Tasmanian Super-Axe-Hacker!

We still have a beautiful view from our drive.
Okay... I know I've been dramatic.
But, seriously... It felt (feels) a little dramatic...

I suppose we did get our trail through the woods that we'd wished for.

There's always some wonder here on Serendipity...

And to think I was going to write about the platter-sized snapping turtle we saw yesterday.  She'd dug a little hole, was backed up to it, and was just dropping her third egg down into the hole.  

Sheesh... and I thought that was an adventure worth telling!!